Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)

A selective list of literary criticism for the eighteenth-century American writer, journalist, autobiographer, scientist, and statesman, Benjamin Franklin, favoring signed articles by recognized scholars and articles published in reviewed sources

Introduction, Biography, Historical Context

"Benjamin Franklin." A very brief introduction to Franklin's life and writing, from the textbook publisher Heath Anthology of American Literature.

LeMay, J.A. Leo. Benjamin Franklin: A Documentary History. Prof. LeMay, a well-known authority on Franklin, has repurposed his research notes for Franklin's biography as a web site. Detailed information about Franklin's life is provided year by year, along with summaries of the political and social context.

"The World of Benjamin Franklin." Includes the following open-access articles: "Benjamin Franklin and Apprenticeship in the 18th Century," by Susan E. Klepp; "The Emergence of the American Colonial Press," by Ralph Frasca; "Franklin's Comic Environment," by Paul M. Zall; "'To Cultivate the Finer Arts, and Improve the Stock of Knowledge': Benjamin Franklin and Enlightened Science," by Nina Reid-Maroney; "Food for Thought: America's Accessible Founder," by Michael Zuckerman; "Window on the Collections: Franklin in France," by Melissa Mandell; "At Work: Apprentices in the Age of Franklin," by Laura Beardsley. Pennsylvania Legacise 6, 1 (May 2006), Pennsylvania Historical Society.

"Document Library: Ben Franklin." Complete texts for a rich selection of Franklin's journalism and letters are available here: To the Royal Academy of Farting; A Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity; Pleasure and Pain; The Busy-Body, No. 1; On the Providence of God in the Government of the World; On Censure or Backbiting; Old Mistresses Apologue; The Speech of Miss Polly Baker; Letter to Peter Collinson; Benjamin Franklin to Governor William Shirley; The Way to Wealth; Reasons Against Satirizing Religion; Benjamin Franklin to Joseph Galloway; Benjamin Franklin to Lord Howe; Information to Those Who Would Remove to America; An Account of the Supremest Court of Judicature in Pennsylvania, viz. The Court of the Press; An Address to the Public. TeachingAmericanHistory.org.

"Ben Franklin." ed. Donna Campbell. Prof. Campbell's site recommends links for a wide range of American authors and provides a timeline for tracing the social and political context of American Literature: a good general resource for students researching topics in Early American Literature.

Literary Criticism

Aldridge, Alfred Owen. Franklin and His French Contemporaries (NYU Press, 1957). "Here [Prof. Aldridge] extricates the real Franklin from the myths, misconceptions, and legends with which French adoration surrounded him." The complete book is available open-access at the Internet Archive.